After all, Wei Yan led three thousand rangers to set off to attack Tongguan.
The person who finally finalized this matter was Zhao Yun, and Zhang Xi didn't object.
The reason is very simple. Wei Yan made such a promise, which means that he will defend Tongguan with his life. His will has been expressed, but what about Zhang Xi's will? !
How many days Tongguan can be defended does not entirely depend on Wei Yan's efforts alone.
To seize Tongguan in a sneak attack and hold on for as long as possible, this is what we must do. Zhang Xi and Zhao Yun on the front must also make the same efforts to drag the main force of Cao Zhen's army as close as possible to Linjin County. Cao Zhen should not be given a chance to divide his troops, or even have the entire army return to defend Tongguan.
Now that Wei Yan has expressed his attitude, as the governor of Yongzhou and the vanguard general of the Third Northern Expedition, Zhang Xi must also show his own attitude.
From the operational deployment of the sneak attack on Tongguan, this is no longer the Yongzhou Defense War. It can be said that it has officially entered the third Northern Expedition. Zhang Xi needs to show his responsibility.
It was through this that Zhao Yun persuaded Zhang Xi to let Wei Yan take such a risk. Of course, Zhao Yun did not forget to tell Wei Yan to abide by the rules if he could, and don't force him if he couldn't. If there was something that couldn't be done, evacuate Tongguan, and never risk his life.
There is no way, the big man is also short of talents, especially the commander-in-chief.
Among the Mesozoic generals of the Han Dynasty, only Zhang Xi and Wei Yan had the talent to lead. Among the remaining generals, Guan Ping, Kou Feng, Wu Yi and others are already considered outstanding, but most of them are still suitable as generals. A general, not a commander-in-chief.
By the way, for some reason, Li Yan and Meng Da were not included in Zhao Yun's consideration.
As for the new generation, there are a few talents with the ability to lead, but they are all too young and still need practical experience. Therefore, in the Mesozoic Era, it will take a while.
Zhao Yun didn't want to lose a future military leader just because of a single battle.
After seeing off Wei Yan, Zhao Yun and Zhang Xi discussed it for a while, and the two began to send troops to attack Dali County.
Dali County is less than forty miles northeast of Chongquan County, and only about twenty miles away from Linjin. Taking Dali County is equivalent to facing Cao Zhen who retreated to Linjin.
Of course, at this time, Zhao Yun and Zhang Xi were not sure whether Cao Zhen would retreat to Linjin, but the risk of attacking Linjin directly was very high, so it would be safer to capture Dali County first as a forward position.
And doing so has another purpose.
Zhao Yun was waiting for the arrival of the 20,000 Liangzhou Army infantry led by Su Ze.
With the few people on hand, if Cao Zhen really stayed in Linjin, Zhang Xi and Zhao Yun would not dare to take the initiative to attack and provoke him, otherwise they might be beaten up.
But when the 20,000 Liangzhou Army infantry led by Su Ze are in place, the gap in strength between the two sides will not be big. At that time, they will be fully confident to confront Cao Zhen's Sili Army in a stalemate and truly contain Cao Zhen's army. The main force.
According to the marching speed of the infantry, Zhao Yun estimated that the 20,000 infantry led by Su Ze would have about five days to reach the vicinity of Chongquan County. Therefore, even if he marched, Zhao Yun would not dare to run too far. Li County is a suitable place.
Again, Zhao Yun defeated Niu Jin's cavalry outside Dali County, but did not take advantage of the situation to launch an attack on Dali County.
There was no way, the cavalry was really not good at attacking the city, and Zhao Yun didn't have to dismount the cavalry to attack the city, and Dali County was not a strategic location, so Zhao Yun had no intention of attacking Dali County and just let it go. Dali County ignored it and went straight to Chongquan County.
When Cao Zhen retreated, his retreat direction was also Linjin County in the southeast, not Dali County in the northeast. Today's Dali County may still be the same as before, with only a few hundred Wei army grain and grass transportation teams stationed and attacking. It's not that difficult to get up.
Therefore, Zhang Xi left Zhang Yi and led 5,000 soldiers to continue to garrison Chongquan County to prevent Cao Zhen from killing a carbine. He led 10,000 infantry and went with Zhao Yun's 5,000 cavalry to capture Dali County.
This attack is just a formality.
Cao Zhen has basically given up on Dali County, and there are only a few hundred defenders in Dali County. How can he have the courage to continue to hold on in the face of 15,000 infantry and cavalry coalition forces.
Almost as soon as Zhang Xi led his troops to Dali County, Dali County surrendered.
After that, Zhang Xi sent reconnaissance cavalry to Linjin County to detect the movements of Cao Zhen's main army. He temporarily stationed himself in Dali County, waiting for the arrival of the Liangzhou infantry.
To Zhang Xi's relief, Cao Zhen indeed chose to station in Linjin and did not return directly to Tongguan.
What makes Zhang Xi dare not be careless is that the Liangzhou infantry's marching speed is a bit slow. Even with a rapid march, it is impossible to reach Dali County within three days. Zhang Xi must use 15,000 infantry and cavalry coalition troops to defeat Dali County in Dali County. Li County was on the defensive and did not dare to attack rashly.
As for Cao Zhen, on the one hand, Cao Zhen also needed to rest and reorganize the retreating troops. On the other hand, Cao Zhen also believed that Zhang Xi had fallen into a trap. As long as Zhang Xi followed and was restrained near Linjin, he would be successful.
Therefore, Cao Zhen also chose to stand still for the time being.
In the meantime, there was a brief period of calm for three to five days.
Then, Cao Zhen couldn't sit still.
An urgent report came from the rear. Tongguan was attacked by a large number of Shu thieves and might fall at any time. The general guarding Tongguan asked Cao Zhen to quickly send troops for support.
When Cao Zhen received the news, his heart almost jumped out of his throat.
Immediately, Cao Zhen felt a burst of nameless anger! ! !
What did Cao Tai do for food, what did Wang Chang do for food, and what did the magistrates in the rear who occupied the county do for food? !
How could a large number of Shu thieves reach Tongguan in their rear area? !
What's even more terrible is that it will take at least two days for Cao Tai's urgent request for help to be sent to Linjin. In other words, the Shu thieves had already launched a sneak attack on Tongguan two days ago. Is Tongguan still in their possession now? In his hand, Cao Zhen was not sure.
This made Cao Zhen angry, but also a little surprised.
First of all, according to Cao Tai's request for reinforcements, the Shu thieves' force to attack Tongguan was about 10,000 people. Cao Zhen really couldn't believe it. Where did the Shu thieves get 10,000 people to attack Tongguan? !
Unless the Shu thieves in Dali County are just empty shells, how could Zhang Xi recruit so many people? !
Secondly, if it was really 10,000 troops who attacked Tongguan, were the county magistrates of the four counties behind them collectively blind? Were they simply not aware of such a large-scale troop mobilization? !
Or are all these county magistrates defecting collectively? !
In the end, even if these county magistrates all defected, what about Wang Chang? !
After retreating and returning to Linjin, Cao Zhen immediately gave Wang Chang 3,000 soldiers and asked him to lead the troops to guard Tongguan. Calculating the time, Wang Chang should be near Tongguan soon. If the Shu thieves really had 10,000 soldiers, Wang Chang It's impossible not to notice it, and it's impossible that when Cao Tai's letter asking for help arrived, Wang Chang didn't even send back any information, right? !
After calming down for a while, Cao Zhen combined Cao Tai's ability, personality, and his own rationality, did a little analysis, and came to a conclusion-it is impossible for the Shu thieves to have a force of 10,000 people. After crossing such a large circle, we went to Tongguan to attack Tongguan.
Therefore, the attack on Tongguan is most likely true, but the military strength is most likely caused by a fool like Cao Tai, who deliberately exaggerated it in order to allow himself to quickly send reinforcements to rescue Tongguan.
Based on the information he learned about the Shu thieves and his own experience, Cao Zhen concluded that the number of Shu thieves who went to attack Tongguan was probably more than 5,000 people. They could not hide the scouts and logistics supplies from the counties behind and Wang Chang. It will also be quite difficult.
If only 5,000 people attacked Tongguan, Cao Zhen would be a little more relieved.
After all, there are still 3,000 soldiers guarding Tongguan. Although Cao Tai is a little less capable, for a majestic pass like Tongguan, as long as Cao Tai does not act stupidly and takes the initiative to fight, 3,000 men are still more than enough to resist the attack of 5,000 men. of.
And even if Cao Tai lacks ability and troops, Wang Chang has already brought 3,000 troops to support him.
As long as Wang Chang can rush to Tongguan and successfully enter Tongguan to take charge of the defense, then even if ten thousand people from Shu attack Tongguan, Tongguan will be safe and sound.
Thinking of this, Cao Zhen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
However, out of caution, Cao Zhen still summoned Dai Ling and asked him to lead five thousand troops and go to support Tongguan again.
After all, Tongguan is too important, not only related to the retreat of the entire army, but also related to the safety of the Central Plains region, and it must not be lost easily.
Even if Cao Zhen felt that the Shu thieves did not have that many troops to attack Tongguan, from the perspective of careful consideration, Cao Zhen thought that there were 10,000 Shu thieves to attack.
Let Dai Ling bring another 5,000 reinforcements, and the total strength of Tongguan will be more than 10,000. If it can't be defended anymore, then really, don't come back, the three of them will just wipe their necks where they are.
After making these arrangements, Cao Zhen felt a little relieved and began to consider whether he should attract the Shu thieves from the front to launch an attack.
You guys have all taken a detour to my rear to cause trouble. If I don't respond, how can I lure you to take the initiative to march to Linjin? !
Therefore, Cao Zhen thought for a moment and ordered the entire army to give the impression that the entire army was gathering and about to retreat.
At the same time, Xizuo was asked to spread rumors to Dali County, saying that there was an emergency at Tongguan in the rear, and Cao Zhen planned to withdraw the entire army to defend Tongguan.
Then Zhang Xi really sent troops.
(End of chapter)
